There is not a shadow of doubt that the rich history of Delhi contributes great deal to make it a much sought-after destination in the world. It is an important tourism destination in any itinerary of Archeology tours and history travel around the world.

A city of great antiquity, Delhi has been traditionally credited with being the capital of the Kingdom of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Mahabharata. The area around the Yamuna River (near Purana Qila) has been identified with the city of Indraprastha, mentioned in the Mahabharata as the Pandava capital. Evidence shows that Delhi was situated an important trunk route during the Mauryan period, and the famous geographer Ptolemy, who came to India in the second century AD, has referred to a place as "Dilli".

It took centuries for Delhi to take center stage of attention once again and till date it has continued to dominate the every aspect of the Indian life. The modern Delhi was founded by the in the 8th century AD by Tomara Rajputs who were later supplanted by the Chauhans. Prithivi Raj Chauhan, the last ruler of this dynasty, was defeated by Muhammad Ghori in the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192. Thus came the end of the Hindu rule at Delhi. It now became the pivot of the Muslim rule in India, which continued till 1857 when the Mughal Empire came to an end.

Delhi Sultanate was founded by Qutab-ud-din Aibak, the Turkish general of Muhammad Ghori. He started the construction of Qutab Minar, which was completed by his worthy successor Iltutmish (1211-27). The dynasty is aptly named as the Slave dynasty as its founder was one of the slaves of Muhammad Ghori.

Under successive dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate, which ruled the different parts of India from Delhi, four cities were founded. Delhi Sultanate came to end with the last dynasty of the line succumbing to the onslaught of the Mughals. The First Battle of Panipat in 1526 sealed the fate of Lodi dynasty whose ruler Ibrahim Lodi was defeated and killed by Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire which was destined to dominate the political landscape for more than 300 years.

After his death in 1930 Babur was succeeded his son Humayun who had to flee from India in the face of striking brilliance of Afghan chieftain Sher Shah. Sher Shah. Sher Shah was the brain behind the Grand Trunk Road which has been described as 'such a river of life as exists nowhere else in the world' by Rudyard Kipling, who set much of his novel Kim along this road.

But the reign of Sher Shah did not long last. Humayun was able to snatch his kingdom from the weak successors of Sher Shah. Humayun died fall from the stairs of library in 1556, his wife Banu Begum constructed a wonderful garden tomb for him near Nizamuddin, in the style that was to set the pattern for the development of Mughal architecture. Delhi lost it somewhat pride of place during the rule of Humayun's successors Akbar and Jehangir. During their rule, Agra became the center of power.

However Delhi regained its prominence once again in 1628 when Prince Khurrum, Akbar's grandson, became the Mughal Emperor who assumed the pontifical title Shah Jahan, "Ruler of the Universe", Shah Jahan embarked on an ambitious and extravagant plan of constructing some of the finest Mughal monuments, including the world famous Taj Mahal in Agra. Shah Jahan founded the new walled city of Shahjahanabad, which now comprises Old Delhi. This was the seventh incarnation of Delhi, which was home to the mighty Red Fort and the huge Jama Masjid, fringed by bazaars. Shah Jahan was deposed and imprisoned in Agra by his ruthless son, Aurangzeb, who ruled from Delhi until 1681, when he transferred his capital to the south India until his death in 1707.

Aurangzeb's death set the process of the decline of Mughal Empire. For the next sixty years, Delhi witnessed acute palace intrigues and rivalry among the nobles. Chaos and confusion reigned supreme. This provided opportunity to the foreign powers to invade the county. As a result Delhi has to face the successive onslaughts from various quarters. In 1739 it fell victim to the plunder and ruthless massacre perpetrated by Nadir Shah, the ruler of Persia. The relatively plain tomb of Safdarjung (near the Lodi Gardens), built in 1754 is witness to the decline of the Mughals both in terms of power and finances. The later Mughal rulers were reduced to puppet kings and the empire came to an end in 1957 when the last Mughal emperor who was declared leader of the Indian Mutiny or "First War of Independence" was captured and sent to Burma by the British. The uprising caused a lot of bloodshed before Delhi was brought under the British control.

After a period of more than 50 years, Delhi was once again made capital of India in 1911. Calcutta now Kolkata served as the British capital during this break period.

With Indian Independence in 1947, the last representative of the British India, Lord Mountbatten lost all authority, and the democratically elected Congress government came to power with Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of India. Today, Delhi has the distinction of being the largest secular democratic country in the world and is growing in all directions.